Les Phumes hadn’t been on a bike in years, but here he was peddling down the street instead of taking his car. Recently, he’d been hearing the term “climate emergency” more and more frequently on the news. “An emergency is something serious that needs immediate attention,” he said to himself. “Sounds like an all-hands-on-deck situation, so I need to do my part. Excessive CO2 is polluting our atmosphere, so we gotta reduce our use of carbon-based fuels significantly. And here I am using leg-power to run to the store instead of burning fossil fuel,” he smiled.
Les’s neighbor, Anita Savemorre, was just leaving the Quik-Mart as he glided up. “Sweet ride!” Anita said admiring Les’s bike. “Yeah, I’m trying to do my part about this climate thing,” Les grinned. On his ride home he remembered how Anita had lost her job during the pandemic. Her family was barely able to make ends meet. They surly wouldn’t be buying new bikes any time soon. Nevertheless, Anita probably also wanted to help with the climate situation even though her family certainly wouldn’t have the cash to pay for energy-saving home upgrades or solar panels. “Yet, there must be some ways for Anita’s family to contribute to this effort,” he thought.
Les had heard a lot of good things about Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program. So that evening he searched its website and learned that for every $1 Focus spends it creates almost $5 in energy cost savings. Very impressive! But how could someone who has no money to spend, like Anita’s family, benefit? He read on and then – Bingo!
The next day Les posted the following on his neighborhood Facebook page. “Want to Save Money AND Reduce Polluting Emissions? Get a FREE Focus Lightbulb Pack. It includes 6 LED lightbulbs and a roll of pipe insulation wrap. Order yours at - https://tinyurl.com/GetBulbs LEDs use 90% less energy and can last up to 15 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Save money AND lower your carbon footprint; it’s a Two-fer!”
Later, Les learned that Anita was so excited about the free bulbs that she was talking it up with all the neighbors. “In an emergency, everyone has to step up,” she told them. “That’s what neighbors do; we look out for one another. Because after all, this is the only home we’ll ever know. It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
Les’s neighbor, Anita Savemorre, was just leaving the Quik-Mart as he glided up. “Sweet ride!” Anita said admiring Les’s bike. “Yeah, I’m trying to do my part about this climate thing,” Les grinned. On his ride home he remembered how Anita had lost her job during the pandemic. Her family was barely able to make ends meet. They surly wouldn’t be buying new bikes any time soon. Nevertheless, Anita probably also wanted to help with the climate situation even though her family certainly wouldn’t have the cash to pay for energy-saving home upgrades or solar panels. “Yet, there must be some ways for Anita’s family to contribute to this effort,” he thought.
Les had heard a lot of good things about Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program. So that evening he searched its website and learned that for every $1 Focus spends it creates almost $5 in energy cost savings. Very impressive! But how could someone who has no money to spend, like Anita’s family, benefit? He read on and then – Bingo!
The next day Les posted the following on his neighborhood Facebook page. “Want to Save Money AND Reduce Polluting Emissions? Get a FREE Focus Lightbulb Pack. It includes 6 LED lightbulbs and a roll of pipe insulation wrap. Order yours at - https://tinyurl.com/GetBulbs LEDs use 90% less energy and can last up to 15 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Save money AND lower your carbon footprint; it’s a Two-fer!”
Later, Les learned that Anita was so excited about the free bulbs that she was talking it up with all the neighbors. “In an emergency, everyone has to step up,” she told them. “That’s what neighbors do; we look out for one another. Because after all, this is the only home we’ll ever know. It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
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